The Simplicity Argument and the Unconscious
Philosophy and Theology 20 (1/2):53-83 (2008)
| Abstract | I argue that Kant’s four Paralogistic conclusions concerning (a) substantiality; (b1) unity and (b2) immortality, in the famous “Achillesargument”; (c) personal identity; and (d) metaphysical idealism, in the first edition Critique of Pure Reason (1781), are all connectedby being grounded in a common underlying rational principle, an a priori (universal and necessary) presupposition, namely, that boththe mind and its essential attribute of thinking are immaterial and unextended, i.e., simple. Consequently, despite Kant’s predilectionfor architectonic divisions and separations, I show that in fact the simplicity assumption grounds all four Paralogisms and reinforcesKant’s corresponding commitments to the principles of continuity and coherence. Further, I maintain that Kant, under the influence ofhis earlier Leibnizian and subjective idealist leanings, continued to be guided in the first edition Critique, not only in the Paralogismsbut also in certain sections of the Analytic, by emphasizing unconscious activities, which once more reinforced his commitments to aparadigm of the simplicity, unity, and identity of self-consciousness or apperception | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,865 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesBenjamin Hill (2006). Why We Can No Longer Rationally Believe That Our Intellective Soul is a Substantial Form. Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 80:127-139.
Ben Lazare Mijuskovic (1984). Contingent Immaterialism: Meaning, Freedom, Time, and Mind. B.R. Grüner.
Olli Koistinen (2008). Kant on the Simplicity of the Soul. Proceedings of the Xxii World Congress of Philosophy 16:163-169.
Dennis Schulting (2012). Non-Apperceptive Consciousness. In Riccardo Pozzo, Piero Giordanetti & Marco Sgarbi (eds.), Kant's Philosophy of the Unconscious. de Gruyter.
Timothy O.’Connor (1999). Simplicity and Creation. Faith and Philosophy 16 (3):405-412.
Corey W. Dyck (forthcoming). Kant and Rational Psychology. Oxford University Press.
Timothy O'Connor (1999). Simplicity and Creation. Faith and Philosophy 16:405-412.
Martin Kurthen (2002). The Conscious and the Unconscious: A Package Deal. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 25 (3):343-344.
Colin Marshall (2010). Kant's Metaphysics of the Self. Philosophers' Imprint 10 (8):1-21.
Jaegwon Kim (1966). On the Psycho-Physical Identity Theory. American Philosophical Quarterly 3 (July):227-35.
Melissa McBay Merritt (2011). Kant's Argument for the Apperception Principle. European Journal of Philosophy 19 (1):59-84.
Dennis Schulting (2008). On Strawson on Kantian Apperception. South African Journal of Philosophy 27 (3):257-271.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2011-01-09Total downloads7 ( #134,900 of 556,837 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #39,010 of 556,837 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
